Amaravati, October 2026 : The schedule for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh will be announced after the departments concerned issue the required gazette notifications and the state government communicates its readiness to conduct the polls, State Election Commissioner (SEC) Anil Chandra Punetha said on Tuesday.
Punetha said the State Election Commission was committed to conducting the elections effectively and ensuring adequate security arrangements, particularly in sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas. He made the remarks after meeting representatives of 20 political parties to discuss preparations for the local body elections.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, the SEC said political parties had raised concerns regarding the security of candidates contesting the elections. They also submitted suggestions on various aspects of the electoral process, including the timely issuance of caste certificates to eligible candidates.
The state government announced reservations on Monday for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Backward Classes (BCs) and women for the posts of mayors in 17 municipal corporations and chairpersons in 106 municipalities and nagar panchayats.
Under the announced arrangement, one mayoral seat has been reserved for STs in Mangalagiri-Tadepalli. Two seats have been allocated to SCs: Kurnool for a woman and Rajamahendravaram under the general category.
Five mayoral positions have been reserved for BCs in Kakinada (women), Machilipatnam (women), Eluru (general), Anantapuram (general) and Chittoor (general).
Another five seats have been reserved for women under the general category in Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Guntur, Kadapa and the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC). The mayoral posts in Tirupati, Vijayawada, Ongole and Nellore remain unreserved.
P. Sampath Kumar, Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration, issued an official notification finalising ward-wise reservations for STs, SCs, BCs and women across 13 major municipal corporations in the state.
Reservation Dispute Limits BC Quota to 50% Overall Ceiling
The reservation arrangements follow a judicial setback to the state government's decision to increase the BC quota in local body elections. The government has capped total reservations across categories at 50 per cent after the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down its orders providing 34 per cent reservation for BCs.
On October 9, the Supreme Court dismissed the state government's plea challenging the High Court's decision. The apex court questioned the legal basis of the data used to justify the enhanced quota, particularly the findings of the Unified Family Survey.
Earlier, on October 1, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had struck down two government orders providing 34 per cent reservation for BCs in local body elections, ruling that the quota breached the overall 50 per cent ceiling on reservations.
The High Court held that the combined reservation for all categories in local bodies must remain within the 50 per cent limit, in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines.
The ruling affected one of the key electoral promises of the N. Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government, which had pledged to increase BC reservations in local bodies from 20 per cent to 34 per cent during the 2024 Assembly elections.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had announced the enhanced quota on August 18, stating that BCs would receive 34 per cent reservation in rural local bodies and 33.33 per cent in urban local bodies.
With the reservation framework now being implemented within the overall 50 per cent ceiling, the next steps include completion of the required administrative notifications and confirmation of the government's readiness. The State Election Commission will announce the election schedule after these formalities are completed.
